Pneumatic coneyer



PNEUMATIC CONVEYER 'Filled July 19, 1953 2 sheets-snee; 2

. livery at a point where the said material is -de- Patented Jan.Y 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFI-ICEV PNEUMATIC coNvEYEa Joseph A. Farley, West Hartford, Conn.

Application July 19, 1933, Serial No. 681,124

' s claims. (c1. a02-36) My invention relates to pneumatic' conveyers ofthe type coinmonly used in conveying mateials, such as mineral wool -or the like, for dposited into'the spaces withinthe walls of buildings for insulating purposes.

This material as manufactured is ofv a fluffy nature but, for the purpose ofeconomy in the j transportation of the same, it is compressed to a substantially compact form.

Before the material is delivered to the air spaces'in the walls, it is desirable that the same be broken up to a maximum degree. so that lt will be restored to its original iiuffy form vand thus render it possible to ll the air spaces in a more efficient manner and to provide a`lling of uniform intensity. y

The material is therefore broken up by hand before it is inserted into the conveyer, in order that it may ow into the feeder ofthe con- Veyel.

It has been found that in ordinary conveyers of this type, the material has a tendency toclog at the point where it enters into the' feed wheel and also to choke in the conveyer at the point where it enters into the discharge hose. As an object 'of my invention I have, therefore, provided -vention are, to provide a conveyer of this type which is especially adapted for 'pneumatically means whereby said clogging and choking of the material may be prevented.

Some of the several other objects of my inconveying mineral wool or like material, to pro-v vide' means in 'thesaid conveyer for thoroughly breaking up the material before it is discharged at the point of delivery and to provide a conveyer of this type which lis compactly contained within a substantially, dust-proof and portable trunk like case.

. My invention is chiefly contained in the specific construction and arrangement of `the various 'units and parts comprisingthe conveyer as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the completeconV veyer with the case and hopper shown in section on line I-I of Figure 2.

.Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, show# major part of the same broken away, in central vertical section, online 5,-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a side view showing a *portion of the I feeder housing in central vertical section and thefeed wheel therein in side elevation with .parts thereof broken away to illustrate more clearly its construction. A

As illustrated in the drawings, like numerals y denote like parts in the various gures. The numeral 5 denotes the case which contains my'improved conveyer, and which .is constructed of vside frames 6 that are secured to a oor l,

provided whereby the complete conveyer carried. Y

This case is provided at each side,'for accessV to the inside thereof, with doors I ll-III which are hinged at I I near the ends of the case and overlap at the center thereof, so that they may be locked V by common staples I2-I'2 provided on the side may be frames at each side of the case.

My improved conveyer consists primarily of a `plurality of units, such as aiblower I3, a feederk y I4, a feeder driving mechanism I5 and a control board I6.

The blower I3 may be an air compressor of any suitable type. It is mounted on theoor 'I of theV casing by means of resilient supports I1, in order that the vibration from the compressor 'unit may 'be reduced to av minimumyand connected tothe feeder by means of a hose connection I 3a. An

air filter I3b is provided at the inlet of the blower. Y

-The feeder driving mechanism comprises a motor I8 and a speed reducing device IS-which is connected to be driven by said motor 'by meansv of a flexible coupling 20. A pulley 2| is mounted on the driving shaft 22 of the speed reducing device and is connected to drive the feedery wheel by means of a pulley 23,.which is mountedV on the rotating feeder shaft 24, anda belt 25. .The said motor I8 and speed reducing device I9 arev mounted on` a base frame 26 which is supported on upright posts 21 and slidably adjustable there-` on by means of the screws 28 and slots 29 extending through the said frame in order that the' same may be properly positioned to obtain the desired tension in the driving belt 25. f

My improved conveyer is intended-for operai tion from any ordinary electric supplyl socket, such as commonly found in dwellings where the electric circuits are commonly wired for a low l amperage which is suilicient to operate the motors of both the blower and driving units of my con? veyer.

It is advisable however, in order to avoid the blowing out of fuses in electric circuits, not to start the two motors simultaneously, as the combined starting load of the two motors can, under certain conditions, cause the blowing out of the I to the feeder motor I8 thru the receptacle plug 39- and a cable 4o.

I will now describe the construction of the feeder unit I4 which comprises essential features of my invention. 'I'his feeder comprises a drum 4|, a hopper box 42 mounted-at the top of said drum, and a mixing chamber 43 mounted at the bottom of the drum. The said drum is supported on the annular flanges 44 'of the end plates 45-45, which end plates are supported by leg portions 46 formed integrally therewith, and secured to the ends of the drum by tie bolts 45a.

A feeder wheel 41 is rotatably mounted within said drum. The said feeder wheel comprises a cylindrical center-portion 48 from which radiate walls 49'between end flanges 50 thatv are formed at each vend of said feeder wheel to provide buckets 5 I. The said feeder wheel also comprises center bars. 52 ,on which are formed hubs 53 thru which extends the rotating feeder shaft 24. This shaft is secured to the said wheel by means oi pinsA 55, extending thru the said hubs and the shaft,

Yand is rotatably mounted in the hubs 56 of the end plates 45-45.

In order to prevent the passage of air from the mixing chamber 43 past the feederwheel, I provide packing strips of a suitable material 51 which are"c1amped,by means of clamping bars 58, to the outer edge of each of the Walls 49 and packing rings 59 which are clamped, by means of clamping .rings 6p and screws 60a, at the periphery of the side iiangs -50, the-packing strips 51 extending thru notches 51a in the edge' of th'e side flanges 50 and abutting the sides of the packing rings 59. These packing strips and rings are in contact with the inner' surface of the drum 4I, thus providing an air tight seal between the mixing chamber 43 and the hopper box 42.

'The flanges 44, which extend into the ends of the drum 4 I from the Iend plates 45, are made slightly -higher around the lower half of their periphery so that their edges will be in close proximityto the packing rings 59, while a clearance is provided between the upper half of Athe periphery of the flanges andthe packing rings. The air, which is under pressure in the mixing chamber 43, will tend to force the packing rings outwardly in contact with the edges of the anges 44 thus providing an .extra air seal between the lower and the upper halves of the feeder.

I have found that in the use of conveyers of this type, the material' has a tendency to `clog at the l point where it enters from the hopper box 42 into the buckets of the feeder wheel. Withthe feeder wheel rotating in thedirection of the arrows shown in Figure 3 vofthe drawings, the outer edges of the bucket walls 49 would have a tendency topack thematerial against the side wall 42a, of the hopper box 42. In order to avoid this conthe baille plates adsense dition I have provided a separating plate 6l, as learly shown in Figures 3` and 6 of the drawings, which extends from the wall 42a, for a distance across the bottom cf the hopper box 42, on the upper part of the drum, and provides a material the separating edge 62, thus eliminating the possibility of the said material clogging between the wall 42a. of the hopper box and the edge of the hopper walls. In effect I have provided, -substantially, a shearing edge for separating the material in the hopper box from that in the buckets.

As the feeder wheel rotates, the material in the buckets which was received thru the upper part of the drum the opening 64a. into the mixing chamber 43 where the said material will be picked up by the current` of air which flows thru the said mixing chamber and conveyed thru the nozzle 10 and the flexible hose 65 from the end of which it is delivered at the desired point. Although the material is loose when it drops out of the buckets 5I into the mixing chamber 43, it is still in a. lumpy form, having been broken from its compressed form by hand only. In order to thoroughly break up this mate rial so that it will be restored to its original fluffy form, I provide a breaker plate 66 within the mixing chamber 4 3 which is located in advance of the enlarged section 61 of the mixing chamber 43, at

lwhich point the material is received, and baille that will pick up the material dropped by the buckets at that point and thoroughly break it up and mix it with the air which carries it past thebailie plates 68 where the airWcurrent is again interfurther swirling action before material pass thru the rupted, causing a the said air currents and nozzle 10 of the mixing chamber into the exible hose 65.

It can be readily seen that the lumps of material will be so thoroughly broken up by the swirling action of the air in the mixing chamber that the said material is restored to its original fluffy form before it is discharged from the mixing chamber into the hose 65.

-It is here pointed out that in devices of-this" kind the material has a tendency to accumulate in parts of the mixing chamber in such a manner that it becomesimmovable by thefi'x plate 66 and currents. By means of the breaker 68, in conjunction with the particular formation ofthe mixing chamber, the air currents are so affected that such accumulation of the material will be prevented.

Perforations 1I are provided in the breaker plate 66 inorder that some of the air, which is interrupted by the said plate, will pass thru the said perforations Aand cause a further breaking up action of the air currents while also prevent- 41, will drop out of the buckets thru in the enlarged part 61 of the mixing chamber,

material are secured to the cover 8 by means of clamping strips 15 so that the said packing strips will overlap the edges of the opening 13. When the conveyer is not in use, a cover is secured Vover said opening by means of .engagement with the upwardly extending lips 'l5 of the clamping strips 15. When the machine is in operation, the cover is removed and the'hopper is inserted thru' the opening "I3 into the hopper box 42. 'I'he 'hopper resting on the edges of the packing strips 'i4 will completely close thel opening 'i3 thus preventing any material dropping thru the said opening and accumulating on the various parts of the conveyer.

walls 13 at one end and at the side thereof,

but open at the end whereby it is connected to the hopper. The material which is to be'conveyed is rst deposited on the said table. It

is then broken up by hand and pushed over di rectly into the hopper,-thus avoiding the spilling of said material.

.It has beenA found thatsaid material, when fed into the hopper 53 at too fast a rate, .has a tendency to pack in the hopper chute 63a and hopper box 42, and therefore, prevent the continuous ilow of material therethru. To overcome this condition, I provide a material restricting -grate 8|) having bars 8| in the hopper 63 a s 55- To further insure against the packing of the material at the said point, I provide an agitating plate 82 which is pivotally mounted-at 82ajin the chute 63a of the hopper and which has its bottom edge `in sliding contact with thetop of the separating plate 6|. Thev said agitating plate is actuated by means of an actuating eccentric 83 which is mounted on a -rotating shaft 84 rotatably mounted in the side walls of the hopper box 42, a spring 84a to. keep said plate in 7 actuating engagement with said eccentric. A pulley 85 is secured to the said shaft and connected by means of a belt 86 to a pulley 81 on' the shaft 24 'of the feeder for rotation of the said shaft 84. Itl can be readily understood that the rotation 4of the eccentricA 83 against the agitating plate 82 will impart an oscillating motion to said plate which will agita the material inthe chute |i3a and hopper box 42 antithus prevent the packing of the same therein.l The said agitating plate also serves to sweep the materialV oi the top of the separatingplate 6| after it has been separated thereby from the material in the buckets.

-In the use of my improved conveyer, one operator directs. thedelivery of the material from the end of the hose 65 to the desired point while a second operator attends to the feeding of the material into the conveyer.

In order that the operatorV attending to ythe delivery oi' the material may be able to control the supply of said material at his end, which may be located at a considerable distance from the conveying apparatus,'I provide a remote control switch 80' at the end ,of a control conduit 8|, which is connected by means of a receptacle plug 82 in series with the electrical circuit operating the blower I3 thruthe switch 33. `When the operator at the delivery end wishes to stop the supply of material, he breaks the circuit thru 'said switch 80 thus stopping the blower I3.

The operator at the feeder end, noting thatthe blower has stopped, will stpp the feeder by the switch 38.V When the operator -at the delivery end `again starts'the blower by the remote controlswitch., the operatorat the feeder end lwill again start the feeder and the operation of 4the conveyer will be resumed. If preferred, the electrical circuit may be so arranged that the operator at the feeder end can switch on or ofi both the blower and the feederI motors at the same time, but I have chosen to have the feeder operated by Ithe operator at the feeder end in order to eliminate the starting of both motors at the same time and thus' imposing an excessive load on the supplycircuit.

It will be readily seen that, by the particular construction and arrangement of the various units and parts as above described, I have provided a conveyer lwhich is readily carried lfrom place'to place sothat it can be placed at the most con- Tvenient location either at the outside or inside of a building, the entire conveyer being of such a size that it can be canied -thru any ordinary doorway.

I have also provided a conveyer which is protected from the spillage of the material being fed thereinto and, as a most important object of my invention, I have provided means for preventing the clogging and choking of the, feeder together with eiiicient means for thoroughly breaking up ing a` hopper, a mixing chamber having'an inlet conveying loose-material, said conveyer comprisand a `discharge opening, an air source for supplying a current of air thru said mixing chamber, an'openingv from said hopper into said mixing chamber and means for supplying said material into said mixing chamber; a breaker plate in said mixing chamber for breaking and agitating 4 the air current therethru, and baille plates located before the discharge"V opening in said mixing chamber for further agitation of air currents.

2. Ina conveyer of the character described comprising a hopper, a mixing chamber having an inlet and a discharge opening, an air source for supplying a current of air thru said mixing chamber, an opening from said hopper into said mixing chamber and means for supplyingsaid material into'said mixing chamber; baffle plates located at each side of said mixing chamber and before the discharge opening thereof for agitating the said current of air.,

3. In a conveyer of the character described for conveying loose material, said conveyer comprising a hopper, a mixing chamber having an inlet and a discharge opening, an air source for supplying a current of air thru said mixing chamber,

an opening from said hopper into said mixing chamber, and means for supplying said material into said mixing chamber; a breaker plate located within said mixing chamber between the said inlet thereof and the opening from said hopper for eifecting air currents therein, and means between said breaker plate and the opening from said mixing chamber for further aiecting said air currents. g

4. In a conveyer of the character described for conveying loose material, said conveyer comprising a hopper, a mixing chamber having an inlet and a discharge opening, an air source for'supf plying a current oi air for moving said loose ma- Y terial thru said mixing chamber, an opening from v said hopper into said mixing chamber, and means for supplying said material into said mixing chamber; a breaker plate in said mixing chamber for breaking and agitating Ythe air currents while passing therethru, and means comprising perforations in said breaker plate for preventing accumulation of said loose material in said mixing chamber in a manner whereby the same would 10 become immovable by said air currents.

5. A conveyer of the character described comprising a hopper, a mixing chamber having an inlet and a discharge opening, an opening from said hopper into said mixing chamber. a. feeder 15 for delivering material into said mixing chamber, an air source for conveying said material out of x said mixing chamber, and means comprising a perforated breaker plate in the path of said air currents for preventing the accumulation of 20 s aidmaterial in said chamber.

lJOSEPH A. FARLEY. 

